ICYMI, Bad Bunny’s tributary, era-spanning reggaetón epic, “Safaera,” is currently absent from the platform—mostly. While it’s been removed from the YHLQMDLG album, remixes and other uploading routes have emerged, though copyrights make their permanence precarious.
Still, the question remains: Why did Spotify remove “Safaera?”
And why did this happen yesterday of all days? For Benito fans, it was a holy day: He’d just debuted on the cover of Rolling Stone. So many fans are so feverishly upset that Twitter has designated the event an official Twitter Moment.
Talking with Residente on Instagram Live last night, Bad Bunny touched on the subject, but didn’t reveal much—he basically told viewers he didn’t want to make the situation any worse. He was even more vague (though kinda funny) about it on Twitter.
One committed “Safaera” fan went straight to Spotify for answers:
The inquiry resulted in a lead: “It looks like there are some permission issues with the rights holders of that song,” the Spotify rep responded.
It seems as though the takedown wasn’t Spotify’s idea.
Of course, the internet rumor-mill immediately went hard to work, with tweets alleging the removal was related to a disagreement between Alvarito Díaz, Tainy, Bad Bunny and his label, Rimas Music. Reps for Díaz vehemently denied his involvement in the situation when asked by Remezcla this morning.
Another user tweeted a video of Díaz rapping along to a beat that resembles a bit of “Safaera.”
The same user then added live footage to the investigation, this piece pointing to the possibility that Díaz had claim to the beat for Bad Bunny & Don Omar’s “Pa’ Romperla,” which appears on Benito’s latest album, Las Que No Iban a Salir, comprised of cutting-floor tracks he supposedly hadn’t planned to make public.
In Díaz’s hands, “Castigada” is the name of the song. The beat is by Tainy, he tells an audience in the clip: “This song comes out soon… it hasn’t come out yet.”
Someone else, though, said the beat was intended for Jhay Cortez. Another said the song was going to be a joint track featuring both Cortez and Díaz.
Further taking credence away from the internet rumors is the close relationship between Díaz, Tainy (who is a partner in NEON16, the label Díaz is signed to), and Bad Bunny.
“Pa’ Romperla,” though, unlike “Safaera,” is still available on Spotify. And throughout all of this, there’s been no mention of either song’s collaborators (Don Omar on the former, and Ñengo Flow, Jowell & Randy on the latter)
Additionally, both tracks are still available on YouTube and Apple Music.
While Spotify couldn’t get into specific details with Remezcla, the platform issued more responses to fans, further pointing at the likelihood that the removal does indeed stem from a rights issue:
We’ve also reached out to reps for Bad Bunny for comment but have not yet heard back.